No, men allegedly involved in altercation in Southend, U.K., are not immigrants

What's the claim?

A video of an altercation between some men has been widely shared on social media, with claims that it shows an immigrant gang attacking a man in Southend, England.  

A group of men, some masked and armed, appear in the video. One unmasked man retrieves what appears to be a metal pole from a dark blue car. A violent fight ensues, and, towards the end, as the man re-enters the car, a masked individual attacks him through the window while someone shouts at them.

On the X (formerly Twitter) platform, the video was shared with captions such as: "BREAKING NEWS: Last night in Southend, U.K., a masked immigrant gang attacked a man with a machete and a knife. The immigrants smashed the car. The lives of the British are no longer safe. Where is the U.K. heading? Is this a safe country anymore?" Archives of the posts are here, here, and here.

The narrative also spread on Facebook. Archived posts are here, here, and here.

Screenshots of some of the social media posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the police said the incident had no links to migrants or the immigration status of the parties involved. 

What did we find?

BBC News, which included a screenshot from the video, reported that police officers arrived within 10 minutes of being contacted about a knife fight in Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea, shortly after 12.15 a.m. on September 15. One man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and received hospital treatment, the report said. It added that a 32-year-old man from Coventry, England, was arrested on suspicion of affray and remains in custody for questioning.

Further, in a September 15, 2024, statement titled "Southend: Four Arrests and Enquiries Ongoing After Disorder," Essex Police provided an update on its investigation. In the statement, Essex Police said four individuals were arrested as part of the inquiry. A 32-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of affray, remains on bail while investigations continue, the police said. Two men, aged 19 and 24, and a 17-year-old boy, all from Southend, were questioned on suspicion of grievous bodily harm (GBH). The statement added that the 24-year-old and 17-year-old have been released on bail under strict monitoring conditions, while the 19-year-old will face no further action about the case. 

Notably, the release did not report any involvement of immigrants in the incident.

A spokesperson for Essex Police clarified to Logically Facts, "From our perspective, there are absolutely no links to migrants or the immigration status of any parties in this incident. The parties we have arrested and bailed so far in this investigation, in this case, are all Southend locals."

The verdict